Friday News: “No, Not Trump, Not Ever;” “General Assembly Republicans do that thing they do”

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, March 18. Also check out the video of Rep. Gerry Connolly speaking at last night’s St. Patrick’s Day party at the Kena Temple in Fairfax. Among other things, Connolly noted the huge difference between the two parties, as exemplified by the Flint, Michigan lead poisoning scandal/disgrace. Connolly also predicted that this year could be a great year for Democrats if Republicans nominate Donald Trump, with the potential to hold the White House and to take back the Congress.

Paul Krugman: Republican Elite’s Reign of Disdain (“But the Republican elite can’t handle the truth. It’s too committed to an Ayn Rand story line about heroic job creators versus moochers to admit either that trickle-down economics can fail to deliver good jobs, or that sometimes government aid is a crucial lifeline. So it ends up lashing out at its own voters when they refuse to buy into that story line.”)

David Brooks: No, Not Trump, Not Ever (Trump “is a threat to the long and glorious experiment of American self-government. He is precisely the kind of scapegoating, promise-making, fear-driving and deceiving demagogue they feared. Trump’s supporters deserve respect. They are left out of this economy. But Trump himself? No, not Trump, not ever.”)

Power play: General Assembly Republicans do that thing they do (“But one thing is certain: With their reckless disregard of precedent and destructive desire to win at all costs, the assembly’s elephants have once again shown that they are more than happy to trample their opponents—and the very idea of bipartisan cooperation—to get their way. After all, that’s the new Virginia way.”)

Check out MediaMatters on Joseph DiGenova: “Right-wing media are reporting discredited Republican lawyer Joseph diGenova’s baseless claim that Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton committed “numerous federal crimes” with her private email use, failing to note that Clinton is not the target of the FBI’s investigation and that the probe is not criminal in nature.”